Championship: Coventry thrash 10-man Birmingham, Wrexham denied first home win

Coventry City preserved their unbeaten start to the Championship campaign with a 3-0 home victory over 10-man Birmingham City.

Having drawn three straight league games before Saturday's clash, Frank Lampard's side enjoyed a dream start, when Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring inside 16 minutes.

The Sky Blues forward fired past Ryan Allsop, who had parried the ball into Thomas-Asante's path after initially saving Liam Kitching's effort.

In a heated local derby, Jack Robinson saw red for Birmingham in the 42nd minute, receiving his second yellow card of the afternoon for a foul on Haji Wright.

The hosts doubled their lead just after the interval, as a Josh Eccles header across the box took a fortuitous deflection off Birmingham's Bright Osayi-Samuel, before crossing Allsop's line for an own goal.

Victor Torp capped off a superb display with Coventry's third 12 minutes from time, as a long ball from goalkeeper Carl Rushworth dropped kindly to Ellis Simms, whose shot was saved, before Torp tapped the ball into an empty net.

The victory sees Coventry rise to second place in the standings, though results across the rest of the weekend could see them drop as low as fourth.

Lampard’s side are now on their longest Championship unbeaten streak (eight games), since a 10-game run from December 2023 to January 2024.

Birmingham, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four league games.

Elsewhere, Wrexham were denied their first home win in the Championship, as they played out a 1-1 draw with Derby County at the Racecourse Ground. 

Two second-half goals ensured the spoils were shared, as a deft header from Lewis O'Brien put Phil Parkinson's side in front in the 59th minute. 

However, in the 79th minute, Ben Brereton Diaz stunned Wrexham with a spectacular long-range effort, planting the ball into Arthur Okonkwo's top-left corner. 

Derby move out of the relegation zone into 20th place, two points behind Wrexham.

Swansea City, who fell to their first defeat in eight games across all competitions last time out against Birmingham, drew 1-1 with Millwall.

Zan Vipotnik snatched the hosts an early lead in the 12th minute, but forward Josh Coburn struck in first-half stoppage time to restore parity. 

Now unbeaten in three league games, Millwall climb into eighth on 11 points, while Swansea sit two points further back.

Data Debrief: Free-scoring Coventry impress again

Coventry's offensive arsenal was on display again, with the Sky Blues scoring three, taking their tally to 18 Championship goals this season, outscoring every other side in the division. 

In Thomas-Asante, Wright and Torp, Lampard's forward line looked impressive. Torp is now tied with Wright on five goals, with Coventry having two of the three players leading the way in the Championship top scorer charts.

Wrexham proved that lapses in concentration were an issue again, after conceding an equaliser. They have dropped seven points after taking the lead in Championship matches this season — the only team with a worse record is Derby, who have let eight slip away.